Marketplace Tech

The Federal Reserve is taking on the digital divide

October 08, 2018

Almost 40 percent of rural America, or about 23 million people, don't have access to broadband internet or reliable mobile service. Long term, this digital divide is a huge economic problem. Companies need high-skilled workers, and people without decent internet access can't find those jobs or get the training they might need to do them. Now the Fed is trying convince businesses that the digital divide is their problem, too, Jeremy Hegle told us. He's a senior community development adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Its territory includes Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, parts of Missouri and northern New Mexico. (10/08/18)